The famous statement "the more we know about an issue the better prepared we are" is very relevant while discussing about tonsil stones.
If people get a proper overview of what tonsil stones actually are or what they are made up of and how they are formed they will be able to device ways of removing them.
Tonsilloliths is the medical term for what people generally call the tonsil stones.
Palatine tonsil is the common place where these stones occur but they may also form in the lingual tonsils.
These stones can be large or small and they may weigh between 300mg to 41g.
Tonsilloliths are mainly composed of calcium but they may contain several other minerals like magnesium, carbonate, ammonia and phosphorous.
These stones are not harmful but may cause difficulty or pain while swallowing, irritation and bad breath.
All these inconveniences make the procedure of tonsil stone removal important and unavoidable.
Reports show that development of tonsil stones is more common in grown up people than in children.
Bad breath and pain in swallowing food are the two general symptoms that may act as pointers to the fact that a person has them.
Choking, tightening of the throat, metallic taste and excessive coughing are other symptoms associated with this problem.
CT scans or X- rays are the best way to decipher whether a person has these stones.
If a person has large Tonsilloliths he may suffer from multiple difficulties like frequent occurrences of tonsil infection, white color debris, ear ache, recurrent incidences of bad breath or halitosis and swelling of the tonsil.
In such a situation immediate steps should be taken for tonsil stones removal.
While discussing about this ailment, the question of how are these stones formed generally comes to a person's mind.
As an answer to this question it must be informed that the tonsils have numerous crevices where microscopic organism like bacteria or other particles like mucus and dead cells can get trapped.
In such a situation the debris or trapped material gets concentrated into white formations and can be found in the pockets.
The stones are formed when this debris calcifies or hardens.
These stones generally form on the roof of the mouth or in the throat.
Some common factors that contributes to the development of these stones are sinus infection, post nasal dip, autoimmune disorders, allergy, bacterial or viral infection, intake of refined food, stress, toxins from the surrounding environment etc.
The removal can be classified as two types, natural treatment and surgical treatment.
The appropriate procedure for removal of such stones should largely depend on the size of the stone as well as its chances of causing discomfort.
If these stones are small in size and are not accompanied by any major symptom or difficulty a person can get rid of it himself, at his own home without any professional guidance.
For the removal of such stones a person can gargle with mild warm water with a pinch of salt added to it.
A person can also gargle with a mouth wash that is nonalcoholic in nature.
Another procedure to dislodge such stones is to brush it with a toothbrush.
There are several antibiotics that are often used by people for the treatment of tonsil stones.
These antibiotics can be easily purchased from a pharmaceutical shop.
There are several instances where the tonsil stones are large and are accompanied by multiple symptoms.
In such a situation it is utmost necessary to consult a surgeon to get the stones removed.
Surgical removalis a rather aggressive process when compared to other self-treatments.
Laser resurfacing is preferred by many doctors for tonsil stone removal.
In this procedure a scanned carbon dioxide or CO2 laser is used after the patient is given local anesthesia.
This procedure flattens the crevices on the tonsil that traps the debris and is considered to be long term cure for tonsil stones.
For a few days immediately after the surgery patients can complain of having a sore throat or they can face difficulty in swallowing food.
Doctors suggest that surgical removal of tonsil stones is safe though the procedure is expensive when compared to other do it at home methods.